Retailers need to be smart with their Mother's Day offerings to fit the smaller budgets of their customers.

Although there are no individual holidays in the spring that match the year-end period, there are a number of smaller ones that can add up to a nice windfall for retailers that choose to pursue them aggressively. The average American will spend a couple hundred dollars across Easter, Mother's Day and Father's Day and retailers selling ideal gifts for these special events have the opportunity to capitalize on them.

However, targeting consumers can be difficult. Many people are still paying off their credit card bills from the end-of-the-year shopping season so they aren't exactly ready to splurge, even for their parents. Although consumers spent a record high of $169 on average for their mothers, budgets have actually decreased this year, according to the National Retail Federation.

Although retailers have their eyes set on maximizing order value and selling as many products as possible, they'll need to find ways to conform to consumers' smaller budgets. This could range from offering discounts to bundling high-value items with lower value ones to improve margins, providing customers with free shipping and taking other similar actions to fuel sales.

"Americans haven't forgotten about the state of the economy and are treating their finances and gift-giving budgets in a way that keeps practicality top of mind," said Prosper's Consumer Insights Director Pam Goodfellow. "But like we saw with Valentine's Day and Easter, people this year will look for special ways to treat mom to something nice without breaking the bank, knowing it's the thought that counts."

Pushing the right products
The NRF study noted some of the popular gifts people will be looking to purchase for their mothers. Some of the top items include flowers, spring sweaters and blouses, books and CDs, housewares and gardening tools, jewelry and personal experience gifts such as a trip to the spa. Flowers are the favorite present of the bunch, with two-thirds of Americans opting for that gift and spending a total of $2.3 billion on that gift category.

Retailers need to keep a finger on the pulse of their customers in order to continue to be relevant to their needs. Omnichannel retailing tools can help them track and monitor demand and then adjust their own marketing and inventory management efforts to reflect shifts in demand.